Angel
by Pannacotta
Summary: Companion piece to The Second Placer. For the three years that he was in exile, Loke always did the same things over and over again... because he thought it was routine and, maybe, because it was safe. LokexLucy with a hint of LuNaLi


Angel

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned Fairy Tail.

_For the three years that he was in exile, Loke did the same things over and over again. Sleep, eat and flirt. Then repeat. Because he thought it was routine and, maybe, because it was safe._

With all his womanizing ways, one would think that Loke would never settle down. When he went out on dates, one would never see the same girl on his arm thrice. Hell, it was even a miracle if you see the same girl in his embrace for the second time.

But one would never know that Loke, like everyone else, longed to have that special someone - someone who he would love truly and deeply and who would love him in return.

And then came Lucy with the brightest smile, the most wonderful personality and... the _HOTTEST_ body.

Well, you can't blame him. He's a man after all.

As soon as she came into the picture, he was ready to make her his. However, Fate was cruel that day. Fate probably gave him the girl of his dreams but Fate also gave him a Stellar Spirit Mage, the kind of people he would always avoid.

That is why no matter how pretty, how kind she was and how much his entire being wanted to go to her, he forced himself to stay away.

All was going according to plan. He never went anywhere near her. He would only look in envy as her team had fun in their little corner. He planned to stick to that plan until his last day came. But alas, it was never meant to be. He never went to her but the beautiful Stellar Spirit Mage came to him... and saved him from his early "death".

At that moment, he probably never saw someone as beautiful as Lucy defending a worthless spirit like him against the mighty Spirit King. He could only watch in awe as she summoned every spirit in her possession to prove that he was worth saving.

In the end, she became his new master and he became her most loyal spirit.

To someone watching their story, he or she probably thought that they would be together. But no, the blond girl had to, slowly, fall in love with the oblivious Fire Dragon Slayer... and she had to experience her first heartbreak as the Dragon Slayer's first love "rose from the dead". She was too kind and too selfless to fight for her love so she quietly backed away.

Little by little, she began to distance herself from her original team. Little by little, she lost that spark that made her _her_.

During these times, what was the Lion spirit doing?

Well, he was off on his numerous dates in the Spirit World. Virgo and Gemini, two... err... three of Lucy's beloved spirits often wished that he would go off to tralalala land and never return. They knew the Lion spirit was in love with their master. They also knew that he went on those dates just to forget the fact that he was just a spirit and Lucy... Lucy was a _human_. A relationship between a spirit and a human was against the rules.

They should probably leave the Lion spirit alone but... They were Lucy's spirits! They were never really known to follow the rules.

And with that thought, the two (three?) spirits drag the Lion spirit away from his current date one night and forced him to go through the gate.

There was a sudden pop at Lucy's side. The smoke slowly dissipated to reveal Loke, sporting the grin that made girls fall in love with him.

Lucy gave the Lion spirit a sad smile, which made him frown. She turned her head away from him and returned to cradling the fruity looking drink in her hand.

Loke, truth be told, was not used to seeing his master in this way. Whenever she summoned him, she would either be happy to see one of her spirits, determined to save her friends or angry at her teammates for their crazy and unbelievable antics but never like this. It made his heart ached to see her in this state.

The hunch of her back, the way her head was turned to one side, the way she protected her body – it looked like she was shielding her entire being from something on the opposite side of the room. His golden eyes searched for the reason why his beloved master is in this state and he immediately found the Fire Dragon Slayer and the youngest Take Over mage with the other members of Fairy Tail teasing them.

A particular joke from one of the members of the crowd made everybody laugh. Well, almost everybody. The joyous sound only made Lucy flinch and retreat further in her spot.

As Loke continued to watch Lucy, he saw resignation settle in her eyes. Lucy tightly gripped her glass for a moment before standing up to leave. For the second time, she gave him that sad smile that Loke was starting to hate to see on her face and left the Fairy Tail building.

Loke contemplated on following her. If he decided to follow her, he might do something that could change everything between them. Without the danger, her crazy friends or her fiery spirit, he doesn't know how he would control himself in front of her.

He knows he loves her and he's not shy in declaring that fact to Lucy but his declaration was always in a joking manner. It made him difficult to be taken seriously. In the beginning, it didn't bother him if Lucy took it as a joke.

...

Who was he kidding? Of course, it bothered him! He honestly wanted to be with her but it was against the rules and it was obvious that Lucy has feelings for Natsu. He would rather keep his feelings as a secret instead of facing Lucy's rejection.

But, as he remembered Lucy's retreating form, he couldn't help wonder about the "what ifs".

What would happen if he followed her?

If he confessed?

If, instead of joking around, he convinced her and made her see that his feelings for her were real? That given a chance, he would do everything to make and keep that beautiful, blinding smile on her face.

He would do... _Everything_.

Suddenly, Loke felt a newfound determination, a surge of hope and an impulse to drop the drama and just go for it.

Go for her!

Loke immediately took off on a run to catch up with the blond mage. After running several blocks, she finally found the Stellar mage. Her defeated form stilled him for a moment but it wasn't enough to stomp out the courage he felt.

_I would do everything to keep that smile on your face._

He determinedly marched up to Lucy and gently grasped her upper arm. He turned her around and, unsurprisingly, found tear tracks and a hint of shock on her face.

Lucy never thought of being followed that night and never did she think that she would see her handsome spirit gazing at her with so much emotion in his golden eyes.

The Lion, on the other hand, never thought of seeing such a beautiful sight. Lucy, with the golden hair and the beautiful face, under the moonlight left him breathless.

She looked like...

_An angel._

He gently cupped her face in one of his hands and brushed her tears with his thumb. Right then and there, he decided that she was more beautiful without the tears.

She was still hurting. He could see that. Right at that moment, he just wanted to crush her to his chest and never let go but he knew that she would need time.

The courage that he felt earlier... the need to confess...

It wasn't important right now. Lucy doesn't need that while she was hurting. She has a lot on her mind. But it's okay. He'll wait.

He's got forever to wait.

_For the three years that he was in exile, Loki did the same thing over and over again. Sleep, eat and flirt. Then repeat. Because he thought it was routine and, maybe, because it was safe._

_But he had enough. Looking at his beautiful master in the mirror that connected the two worlds, he decided that he had had enough of being safe._

A/N: So... What did you think? Truthfully, I'm proud of this one. It is so different from the angst that I usually write/keep in my head. It's very refreshing.

And about the title... I know it doesn't fit the story but I was listening to Angel by Akon while I was writing this. I started to listen to it when I was writing the what if part. It was perfect. I thought it was only right to make that as this story's title.

Anyway, reviews make people happy. Please leave one. Thank you!


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